Friday, February 24, 2012

On Sailing and Sinking

With 30,000 islands and islets in the Stockholm archipelago, boats are a necessary means of transportation. While many are in storage during the winter, some still grace the shoreline.

Sweden's most famous ship now stands in their most popular museum. The majestic but top-heavy Vasa sank in 1628 on her maiden voyage without making it out of the harbor. Preserved in the brackish mud of the Baltic Sea and salvaged in 1961, this ornately carved warship is the world's oldest surviving ship. More information on the ship's history can be found at the Vasa Museum's website.

Reproduction of the captain's quarters.

The dark wood is original; the lighter wood was added during restoration.

The Vasa is clearly such a national—and world—treasure. I wish the museum would include on their website a large gallery of professional—and lovely—photos of the Vasa. It's quite dark in the museum and the ship is very difficult to photograph, especially without a tripod. I was using my pocket Canon, the one that broke a couple of years ago, so that made it even trickier. It would be great to both see the carved details more clearly and to view the entire ship in one photo.

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About Me

Be my guest! Together we'll wander the winding, cobbled lanes of Vienna looking for delightful architecture, gardens, people and ideas. We'll take excursions now and then, searching out those places and people that make the brain sparkle!
In the meantime, please remember all the photos that I have taken and displayed on this blog are my personal property and copyright laws do apply. If you would like to use one just leave a comment and tell me why you'd like it. Most of the photos on this blog are low resolution. If you need higher res please contact me.
Thanks for your honesty.